“Last year we were kind of the underdogs, it felt like,” said Richfield senior forward Jaden Wollmuth. “We're kind of the team hunting everyone else now. This year we came back with the mentality that we feel like we can be, and are, the best.”

Wollmuth exploited mismatches in the paint to score four points right off the bat en route to a team high 24.

DeLaSalle (5-2, 5-2), No. 4 in the Minnesota Basketball News Class 3A ranking, leaned on a talented backcourt to erase an early Richfield lead. The Islanders received nine first-half points by senior guard Keijuan White and senior wing Cade Haskins.

In a run-and-gun game, DeLaSalle raced to an 11-point lead late in the first half. The Islanders’ head coach, Travis Bledsoe, could be heard constantly imploring his team to hustle back on defense after made baskets.

The Islanders were largely effective in preventing easy buckets, but No. 5-3A Richfield (6-1, 6-1) closed the first half strong to cut the halftime deficit to 42-36.

The Spartans still had more climbing to do, especially if it was going to catch a team with 24 state championship trophies in the case.

“DeLaSalle is the king of the mountain. If we want to be the king of the mountain, we have to be able to beat some of the better teams,” said Richfield head coach Omar McMillan. “They're traditionally tough, we know they're disciplined in the halfcourt and we knew Cade was going to be Cade. We just tried to not match that, but outplay that.”

McMillan was right about Haskins, as the 6-foot-6 wing scored 17 second half points for the Islanders. However, it was contributions throughout the Spartans’ starting lineup that turned the tide towards the home team.

Wollmuth got right back to work with a paint touch to score the opening basket of the second half. The Spartans kept the throttle down and grabbed their first lead of the half, 51-50. 

It was narrow from there until an 8-0 Richfield run gave the Spartans a 70-61 cushion with under four minutes to play. The Islanders never drew closer than two possessions as their comeback effort fell shy.

“They really focused on attacking the paint off the dribble and in the post,” Bledsoe said. “We've got a lot of young dudes on the team that are just working on figuring things out, coming together as a team. … I thought it was a classic two top teams battling, anyone could've won, they made more plays than we did. We lost a tough road game.”

Richfield did not have a bench point and kept its rotation to six main contributors. It was hard for McMillan to take any one guy off the court given their chemistry. 

“The biggest thing is the tradition of homegrown. They've been playing together for a long time,” McMillan said. “They know each others' strengths, they know each others' highs and lows. So they feed off of one another.”

Senior forward Ryan Miles poured in 20 points with a mix of perimeter shooting and crafty shots around the basket. Senior guard Lamar Grayson added 17 while dishing out punishment attacking the rim. Junior guard Mitchell January added an explosive 12 points while 6-foot-8 Isaiah Casey-Hammond scored eight as a compliment to bash brother 6-foot-6 Wollmuth inside.

“We just play together. We know we've been here before,” Wollmuth said.

Neither team wasted time getting into their offense, but it was Richfield that won Tuesday’s run-and-gun battle.

Richfield, No. 5 in Minnesota Basketball News' Class 3A rankings, defeated No. 4-3A DeLaSalle, 81-74 in Richfield.

The host Spartans jumped out to an early lead before the Islanders gained control to go up by as much as 11 in the first half. Richfield narrowed the gap to cut it to 42-36 at halftime. The Spartans found an inside presence with senior center Jaden Wollmuth. He had four points in the first half and led Richfield with 24 for the game.

The Spartans kept the momentum going into the second half and took their first lead at 51-50.

Both teams displayed their athleticism in a back and forth second half featuring hard drives to the basket and marksmanship from deep. An 8-0 run was key for Richfield down the stretch, pushing its lead to 70-61 with under four minutes to play.

Senior forward and Dartmouth commit, Cade Haskins shouldered the load for the Islanders. He had 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half.

All of Richfield’s scoring came from its starters. DeLaSalle got eight bench points.

Richfield was first in the conference in scoring entering the night at 80.8 points per game. DeLaSalle was first in points allowed at 47.7. The two teams trail unbeaten Columbia Heights in the Tri-Metro Conference.

DeLaSalle hosts the rematch against Richfield on March 8.

The MN Basketball Hub poll is for entertainment purposes only.